Food & Body Freedom Is For You Too

Hi everyone, Cody here again and I hope this post brings some encouragement today.

Here in Atlanta, signs of spring are starting to pop up and it is making me sooo happy. Baby John and I love going on long walks and just soaking in all the fresh air. If spring is still a long way off wherever you live, hang in there! Sunshine and blooming plants will be here before you know it. When it’s cold and dreary, it can be easy to forget what the warmth of spring even feels like. Maybe you feel this way on your intuitive eating journey. Perhaps you grew up as a normal eater, eating any and all foods and experiencing zero guilt and shame around food, exercise or your body. Then you fast forward years later and you find yourself stuck in diet culture, consumed by the “shoulds” we all see everyday. People telling you to eat a certain way, look a certain way, or move a certain way. It can be all consuming and I think it’s safe to say, almost all of us have been there to an extent. Therefore, if you are struggling and know your attitude around food, movement and your body is not positive- that’s okay, you are not alone and there is HOPE.

Change is on the way. Perhaps you are implementing positive changes slowly but surely into your lifestyle. Maybe you are trying scary foods you haven’t allowed yourself to enjoy in years, eating more foods in general, taking a break from exercise, turning off certain “noises” in your head, choosing joyful movement, avoiding My Fitness Pal, logging off social media, or simply taking care of yourself in a new way. If you are in a season of recovery, no matter how intense – I know it’s not easy. These are murky waters and it’s probably more uncomfortable than you thought or like to share with others. You may be taking a seemingly small, tiny step in the grand scheme of things. That’s okay…really, that’s awesome. The small steps WILL add up and you will see spring soon. A new life of freedom and true health is on it’s way and it is for you. I see space on the others side and it’s being saved for you.

I’ve heard so many overwhelmed clients say, “I’m not so sure, maybe this whole food and exercise freedom thing isn’t for me.” Don’t let your unhealthy mind win that easily. It is not true! Eating in a way that feels GOOD and moving in a way that is NOURISHING, and honoring your body with RESPECT is right and within reach for everyone. No matter how many years you have spent obsessing about your calories or how many miles you ran that day. You can experience a day when you are not worried about what you ate or how much you ate. You can experience a day when it won’t matter how much you moved. You can experience a day when your values in life are not dependent on what size pants you wear or the number on the scale.

Robyn and I and everyone involved with Real Life Women’s Health fully believe there is hope for full recovery for everyone. It is possible. Yes, it’s a journey and a fight to get there and it can be really hard in the day to day but you are worth it. Tell yourself that even if you don’t believe it…action precedes belief a lot of times. And in recovery, action must happen in the midst of anxiety. There are many women who have walked in your shoes, worked past the anxiety of change and enjoyed the freedom of “spring”…and you can too. Know that you are not alone.

Take a moment and paint a picture in your head. Ask yourself what you want your life to look like. For example you might be thinking, “I want food to just be food, I don’t want to think about it all the time. I want to exercise if I want to, but I don’t want to feel anxiety if I don’t get to it that day. I want to be able to go out to dinner with my family and friends and not worry about what’s on the menu. I want to give my body the respect it deserves.” Then ask yourself WHY you want it to look that way. What are your values? What matters to you? What’s is your purpose in life? This is going to be your motivation when the waters are super murky and when the winter seems like it will never end.

Spring will come and it will be worth it. Those dreary, cold and dark winter days will be so worth it when you see that first flower bloom or experience that first t-shirt worthy spring day. Hang in there and know that the small steps really do add up. If you are doing one teeny tiny new behavior towards this freedom we talk about, that’s amazing. That’s one small step away from your unhealthy self and towards your healthy self. You are caring for yourself well, your body thanks you and you should be proud of yourself. Recognize the small wins.

I recently came across this quote by GK Chesterton. Maybe it will encourage you like it did me. “The mere pursuit of health always leads to something unhealthy. Physical nature must not be made the direct object of obedience; it must be enjoyed, not worshipped.” We are not meant to obsess about health. This kind of focus and attention will always lead to an unhealthy obsession if we pursue health the way society compells us to. Our physical bodies are meant to be enjoyed and not worshipped. You are more than your body!

Do you feel like you need more encouragement? Maybe you need someone to walk alongside you in this journey or you have some unanswered questions. If any of that resonates, know that I am here for you when the time is right. Nutshell Nutrition just got a brand new look and we changed to Real Life Women’s Health (heyyyyy!) and you can check out the new website here.

Comments

Hi cody, How would you deal with setbacks? For example, last year I used to binge approximately once every 10 days and was very unhappy. Now it’s more or less once every 2 months so I know I have made progress but still, it gets me really down. I am an all or nothing person (which probably got me in this position in the first place) so i find it hard to deal with these setbacks!

Annie! I feel the same way… I’ve noticed my binge cycle as changed to roughly once every two months. It always happens just after I feel like I’ve finally “got it” and I’m beyond these issues. Makes me wonder if just that thought in itself is like a diet-mentality thought: to believe that I have “succeeded” in “controlling” myself around being an intuitive eater. Right now, I’m exploring a new approach of not even labeling my binges as binges. I’m acknowledging them as a coping mechanism that I still reach for at times when I’m overwhelmed. Even though it might feel like the same bad habit, I’m trying to remind myself of how much my awareness around them has changed so that I can see them as less of a setback and more of an aspect of my continuing growth and evolution. Might not make much sense, but I just wanted to reach out because I can really relate to what you shared in your comment <3 I'll be curious to read Cody's advice!

Hi Trista! Thank you for putting into words exactly what I was feeling! I had never thought of it that way but indeed, now that I think of it; I was just telling myself that I was feeling OK around food and that maybe just maybe I was getting it and then BAM! I like your possibility of this being another reaction to diet mentality and find it very interesting. It makes sense though as even if it concerns IE it still refers to the sense of control which we dieters seem to love. Thank you for commenting and making me feel less alone in this situation <3

Annie and Trista- you girls are GREAT! Hang in there and stay encouraged. You should certainly be proud of yourself for how far you have come in your IE journey. When you label something as a “binge,” it can definitely put unnecessary power to the name I would love to help you more. If you are interested in working together, email me at [email protected] 🙂

This REALLY resonated with me today, thank you!! You spoke right to my heart and inspired me to keep fighting this fight, no matter how small the steps seem to be or the how often the setbacks. Thank you so much for your words 🙂

I love this quote and feel like it really made me think of my pursuit of health differently. As someone who feels they’ve made great progress, I wonder why I get so down and just uncomfortable in my body. I know I am not “overweight”, but I scrutinize myself sometimes and start to get a little crazy about food. This quote feels like freedom to me. If I live my life with this quote in mind that health isn’t something you “pursue”, I think I will be able to enjoy my life more.. 🙂

Wow that’s such an encouraging quote from Chesterton. This amazing post reminded me of what my dad says. Spring always come after winter. Morning always comes after night. Weeping may endure for the night but joy comes in the morning! I have seen Jesus heal and redeem and restore in SOOO many areas of my thinking and life in just this past year, and I can say that each one of you ladies was an instrument used by God to enable me to walk in so much more freedom.

I love that quote from Chesterton. I’m glad to have come across this post. It’s very timely because lately, I feel so down about my body that I almost wanted to give up. But thanks to this and thanks to you. I somehow feel motivated again and I want to remind myself every time the reason why I started this in the first place: for me and for my body. 🙂